Ball valves, particularly those used in controlling the flow of high pressure water or other materials often develop leaks between the seal rings and the valve body surfaces against the seal rings seat. These leaks become progressively worse due to the corrosive action of the material flowing through the valve or the cutting action of water under high pressure. In the past there has been no method of refinishing the seal ring seating surfaces of ball valves without removing them from the fluid lines they are controlling. The valves are frequently in rather cramped spaces, particularly aboard naval vessels. There are no tools presently available for reboring and/or refacing ball valves in line. Thus, it has been customary in the past to remove ball valves from the lines, transport them to a remote location where they are refinished then return them to their initial site for reinstallation. This procedure is both time consuming and costly.
Another factor contributing to the difficulty of refinishing ball valve seal ring seats in situ has been the fact that the seating surfaces to be refinished lie in planes which are not normal to the top surface of the valve housing, but are instead inclined approximately one degree, plus or minus fifteen minutes, with respect to the normal.